Juan Nicasio, center, with team translator Joe Diaz, left, and team trainer Kieth Dugger. Nicasio fractured his C1 vertebra after being hit in the right temple by a line drive off the bat of Washington Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond on Aug. 5.

Rockies pitcher Juan Nicasio says he feels lucky to be alive, but he plans on pitching again for the team.

“I want to pitch again,” said Nicasio, who sustained a fractured C-1 vertebrae in his neck on Aug. 5 when he was hit on the head by a line drive off the bat of Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond.

Rockies pitcher Juan Nicasio points the the spot where he was hit with a ball.

A fracture of the C-1 often leads to paralysis or death, but the news on Nicasio is all encouraging. The only visible sign of his ordeal was the neck brace he wore to the press conference.

He has undergone neurological tests and consulted with a speech therapist, but only as a precaution. So far, he’s doing at least as well as anyone associated with the Rockies could have hoped for.

“I remember everything,” said Nicasio. He even remembered the pitch he threw — fastball, inside corner — to Desmond.

“I’m lucky,” said Nicasio. “God was very good to me. Some people who have that injury don’t live.”

He was scared as he lie on the mound because he couldn’t move his neck, but Dugger was there in a flash to stabilize him before he could be loaded onto a stretcher. Nicasio said he wanted to thank Dugger and the medical personnel that took care of him “from the bottom of my heart.”

Granted, it’s very early in the healing process, but the hope is that Nicasio can do some throwing in the Dominican instructional league in November before returning to Denver to be examined. According to Dugger, if all goes as hoped, he would report to spring training early and go from there.